'Sea Festa Onomichi -- Sea Festival 2012
Onomichi/Onomichi/Fukuyama/Fukuyama/Mihara --'--' is grandly
and successfully
successfully held
'Sea Festa Onomichi -- Sea Festival 2012 Onomichi/Fukuyama/Mihara --' was held
over the course of 16 days, from July 14-29 in the three cities of Onomichi, Fukuyama,and Mihara. It was originally scheduled to be held in 2011, but was delayed one year
due to the East Japan earthquake and tsunami.
The opening ceremony was held on July 14 at the Shimanami Meeting Center(Onomichi). Yuko Hiratani, the mayor of Onomichi and head of the planningcommittee gave an opening speech, in which he stated that he would like to utilize theregion's history and unique characteristics. During the ceremony, awards were alsopresented to the winners of the slogan and logo contests. The selected slogan was'Dreaming for the future of the Seto Inland Sea'.
On July 18, the Imperial Prince and Princess Akishino also paid a visit, and awelcoming ceremony was held at the Shimanami Meeting Center. Imperial Prince
Akishino-no-miya Fumihito stated, "This region is located in the Seto Inland Sea,
which was our nation's first national park. It has historical cultural heritage sites,
beautiful inland ocean scenery such as the Shimanami Kaido, shipbuilding andfishing industries, and plays a role as a logistics hub. Holding a Sea Festa with thetheme of the ocean here holds a significant meaning. It is our duty to properly
recognize the importance of the sea and to transmit that message to future
generations." A message from Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was also read, after
which the ceremony concluded with an awards presentation to distinguishedmaritime industry personnel.
Sea Festa Onomichi, during which many events were held, concluded on July 29. The
total visitor count was 1,055,000. During the closing ceremony, Mayor Hiratanistated, "I'm happy that the three cities were able to work together to attract morethan one million visitors. As Sea Festa continues on into next year and the year after
that, I look forward to creating a city that is thankful for the boon the sea has
provided us." Sea Festa will be held in five cities in Akita prefecture in 2013, namelyOga, Akita, Katagami, Mitane, and Ogata, so the Sea Festa flag was passed on fromMayor Hiratani to the mayor of Oga City, Yukio Watabe.

Sea Festa opening ceremony
During the ceremony, a Japanese calligraphy
performance was given by the calligraphy club at
Onomichi-kita High School. The logo is displayed on
the screen.

Sea Festa organizer's speech
The organizer's speech was given by planningcommittee chairperson and city mayor Yuko
Hiratani.

Imperial Prince Fumihito attends
a Sea Festa ceremony
This ceremony was attended byImperialPrinceandPrincess

Akishino. His highness expresseda few words.

Recognition given at the ceremony
During the ceremony, recognition wasgiventotheMinisterofLand,

Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism,
Director General of the Maritime SafetyAgency,

Chugoku

District

Transport

BureauChief,

Chugoku

Regional

Development Bureau Chief, 6th Regional
Coast Guard Headquarters Chief, Headof Maritime Safety Agency (Onomichi division), Director of the Onomichi Marine Day
Association, and Director of the Innoshima Marine Day Association.

'All about the sea' exhibition
The 'All about the sea' exhibition was held byseveral maritime-related groups at the Onomichi
City Center Mukaishima Kokoro.

'All about the sea' proves popular
Showing off paintings and models of ships and the sea, the exhibit was visited by manypeople, who experienced the sea first-hand.

A giant rubber duck appears inOnomichi Channel
A giant rubber ducked showed up
in Onomichi Channel. The duck
had apparently never been in sea
water before. Many visitors were
surprised at how big it was.

A sensational seaside parade
A seaside parade was held in Onomichi City on July 21. The event was made moresensational by the addition of Tokyo Disney Resort's special parade.

Sea Festa closing ceremony
After topping a million visitors, Sea Festa came to a close. Pictured right is Mayor
Hiratani passing on the flag to Oga mayor Yukio Watabe for Sea Festa 2013.